Master Gardeners Sue Henley and Barbara Blankenship unveil the plaque dedicating the Jo Lawrence Memorial Garden at Camp Jordan on Wednesday.
The Crestwood Garden Club paid tribute to one of its longtime members and past president’s, Jo Lawrence, by dedicating a garden to her memory, Wednesday afternoon at Camp Jordan.
More than one hundred people, including state and local elected officials and officials of the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs, participated in the moving, hour-long ceremony.
“This was one of Jo’s favorite spots,” said her husband, Jim, after the ceremony was over. “She would be very proud.”
As part of the ceremony, a Blue Star Memorial Marker was dedicated inside the garden. Jo was a longtime member of the Blue Star program, which honors all who serve in the armed forces.
“Jo had this marker in the computer room for a long time,” said Jim. “I asked her what she was going to do with it. And she said, ‘I got a place for that.'”
Jo Lawrence’s daughter, Leigh, and her grandson, Walker, stand during the singing of the National Anthem at Wednesday’s dedication.
That place turned out to be in the center of a garden spot that, by all accounts, Jo loved.
Maggi Burns of Crestwood told those gathered that the spot under the flag poles adjacent to the pavilion in the park was one of her friend’s favorite places to garden. She said that Jo loved pink, so a plethora of pink roses were planted to suit Jo.
“Many here want to say thank you to Jo for the many garden projects that she participated in to beautify East ridge,” Burns said, choking back tears. “We will continue to add to the garden to complete a dream.”
A central part of the garden is the Blue Star Memorial Marker. Blossom Merryman, the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs Blue Star Chairperson told those gathered that she never knew her father; he was killed in an assault in Italy during WWII. She noted how wonderful it was to honor a gardener by dedicating a garden “in a place that someone loved.”
“This is very personal for me,” Merryman said of the Blue Star Marker program. “I never met Jo. I want to say if there was ever a spirit, I know that it is here.”
Pam Dowd, President of the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs, of which there are 3,000 members across the state, did know Jo Lawrence. She wears a Blue Star Marker pin that Jo gave her many years ago during a dedication in Murfreesboro.
Dowd told those gathered a story about her cleaning and repairing a Blue Star Memorial Marker in Clarksville, Tennessee. She said she was on a ladder going about painting a small portion of the marker. A burly man on a Harley pulls up, gets off the bike and asks what she’s doing.
Dowd explained that she’s with the organization that placed the marker and if it’s in bad repair it reflects poorly on the organization.
“He said, ‘I thank you for what you’re doing,’ with tears in his eyes.” she said. “I said, ‘Thank you for what you did for our country.'”
Mayor Brent Lambert accepted the Jo Lawrence Memorial Garden on behalf of the City.
He told a story of going down to Exit 1 at Interstate 75 and pulling weeds with Jo on a cold, blustery winter morning some years ago. He characterized her as “a dedicated person.”
“Anyone who knew Jo had their life touched by Jo,” Lambert said. “She was a wonderful lady who helped beautify East Ridge. She is someone this entire community can be very, very proud of.”
Members of the Crestwood Garden Club and The Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs attend the dedication of the Jo Lawrence Memorial Garden, Wednesday afternoon at Camp Jordan Park.
